1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to automobile seating components, and more specifically to automobile seating components adapted to fold and store in an in-floor storage receptacle.
2. Description of Related Art
Automobiles with folding or removable seats are well known in the art. The purpose of such seats is to adapt the automobile to multiple functions, such as carrying passengers or carrying cargo. Each of these methods of adapting the automobile has had its respective advantages and disadvantages. For instance, a folding seat can require minimal actions on the part of the user, but afford only a partial use of available vehicle volume for cargo. The cargo volume may also be uneven, providing an irregular load floor. The removable seat maximizes the availability of cargo volume, but requires much greater effort on the part of the user to physically remove the seat, and requires that the removed seat be stored outside the vehicle. The seat may thus not be available for conversion back to passenger-carrying away from the seat storage location.
It would be advantageous to provide a seat which incorporates the convenience of a folding seat with the maximization of uniform cargo volume of the removable seat.